October 16, 2015
Pope Francis and his encyclical, Laudato Si (Praise Be to You), released June 18, has provided the Sierra Club with an important ally to address climate change. The encyclical letter emphasizes that humans are not to dominate nature, but must realize that we are fully a part of it.
A major reason for the Pope’s release of the encyclical was his hope that international negotiators at the Paris climate summit scheduled for December may reach a binding climate change agreement. More than once, the Pope has stated that humankind is the major contributor to climate change. In April, a Vatican-sponsored conference of scientists and religious leaders announced that the Paris summit “may be the last effective opportunity to negotiate arrangements” to reduce global climate change.
Chapter one, section I, of the encyclical is labeled “Pollution and Climate Change” and states firmly that “scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the greater concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, and others) released mainly as a result of human activity. …The problem is aggravated by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels...
“Climate change is a global problem with grave implications... It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.”
The encyclical notes that renewable energy could prove to be “very profitable.” In other words, a sustainable economy is not only required, but could be beneficial to all, including those who deny a problem exists.
Specifically, we in the U.S. must ask why ExxonMobil, the Koch brothers, et al., fund climate deniers, while these same corporations and groups have the opportunity to develop renewable energy and protect the Earth.
After reviewing previously unsuccessful climate conferences, Pope Francis states that “reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most.”
“Those who will have to suffer the consequences of what we are trying to hide (by not addressing global climate change) will not forget this failure of conscience and responsibility” if inaction continues.
“The Creator does not abandon us … humanity still has the ability to work together in building a common home.”
Bob Ciesielski